Ultimate Spartan Warrior
by thrashbandicoot01
Summary: This fic is non-canon. The war with the Covenant is over, so what is there to do for the Spartan-II supersoldiers? Put them on a reality TV game show hosted by Avery Junior Johnson, of course! 22 Spartans on two teams of 11 compete on Reach for the chance to win one million dollars. Rated T just to be safe.
1. And We're Off!

It was a beautiful day on the planet Reach. It was at the training facilities the Spartan-IIs were trained at that they were gathered. The whole place was filled with cameras. It was time for a new challenge for these genetically altered supersoldiers. That challenge is a reality TV show to entertain the people after the war. Sargent Major Avery Johnson was the host.

"Alright, everyone! Listen up! I'm Sargent Major Avery Junior Johnson, and I'm here to host the hottest new reality show of the 26th century!" he exclaimed. "We're here on Reach, where the Spartan supersoldiers were trained. To help get them acclimated to civilian life, we're bringing them all here to compete in a game show for one million dollars. We have 22 of them coming here to compete for the prize. Every day, we will have a different challenge for our contestants to compete in. The team that wins the challenge will be safe, and the losing team will vote someone off at the bonfire. The last Spartan standing will win!" Just then, a troop transport warthog arrived at the camp.

"Our first contestant has arrived. James, Spartan-005." Johnson said. James shook his hand.

"Pleasure to be here. Looking forward to the challenge. Can't be as hard as fighting genocidal aliens"

"I'll second that notion" Then, the next Spartans arrived. They jumped out of the Pelican and landed via parachute.

"James! It's been so long since I've seen you!" called out Arthur, one of the Spartans arriving, along with Jai and Solomon.

"Likewise, Arthur! Can't wait to get started!"

Another troop transport Warthog brought the next eight competitors. They were Sam, Fred, Linda, Cal, Malcolm, Naomi, and Leon.

"So, we're here? Where we were tortured, uh, I mean, trained as kids?" Naomi asked out loud. Johnson replied with a nod. They were soon followed by Jerome and Alice, arriving via Hornet. Johnson pulled them aside.

"Look, I know the two of you were floating in space for over 20 years, and I know you're willing to get back out there and prove you still got it, so just don't say or do anything that will get you kicked off early"

"We got it, sir" Alice replied.

"Please, you can call me Johnson. War's over" Another troop transport Warthog arrived, bringing along Keiichi, Margaret, Kurt, Vinh, Carris, Adriana, and Robert.

"Aren't there supposed to be 22 of us?" Leon asked.

"Yes. We're short one" Malcolm answered.

"I think I know who it is" Kurt chimed in. Just then, a Pelican appeared over the horizon.

"He's here!" Robert exclaimed. The Pelican made a hard landing, prompting everyone to dive away. The back popped open, and out walked Master Chief. However, for the sake of the show, he's going to be referred to by his real name, John.

"I knew you'd try and make an entrance, man" Sam greeted him. John shrugged it off.

"I decided to come here in style" Everyone chuckled at that. Johnson pulled out a camera.

"Everyone! Gather over there with the mountains in the background for a photo. We need one for the promotional materials!" he called out. The promo photo was taken, and he had everyone gather by the bonfire pit in the middle.

"Now, let's go over the rules. You will be split into two teams of 11. Every day, starting today, there will be a challenge. The team that wins will gain invincibility. The losing team will come here to this bonfire pit and vote one of their members off. Eventually, we'll merge teams and have individual challenges where similar rules apply. Now, let's split up the teams" Johnson pulled out a piece of paper and had two unrolled banners at his feet.

"First team, stand over there. Isaac, Arthur, John, Linda, Keiichi, Solomon, Naomi, Fred, Alice, Sam, and Kurt. You are Blue Team, represented by the Stingray" He tossed over the banner and it was caught by Sam.

"I can live with being a stingray. I think they're pretty cool" he said.

"Now, the second team, please gather over there. Leon, Jai, Carris, Jerome, Adriana, James, Margaret, Malcolm, Cal, and Vinh. You are red team, represented by the shark" He tossed the banner over, where it was caught by James.

"Shark attack" he muttered. Johnson then pointed to the Operations building.

"Get suited up in your team's gear, and meet me in the court yard for your first challenge" It was an action of intensity. Jerome put war paint on his face, and did the same for Margaret and Leon. The teams would be outfitted in MJOLNIR power armor, albeit in their team's primary colors. James was pumped to get things going. John was ready for whatever was going to be thrown at him. He was only on the show because of Cortana's insistence. Jerome and Alice wished Douglas was there to experience the show with them. Hopefully there's a second season, Alice thought. He can join us then, her though continued.

"I say we're going to kick their asses. They don't have a defined leader. We have two!" Naomi was saying. Kurt shrugged.

"I don't know. They have Jai. He's quite the renegade. Remember all the escape attempts with Adriana?" John asked back. Solomon laughed in agreement while slipping his helmet on.

"I also remember when Mike stole that Pelican and crashed it to cover his tracks. Man, I wish he was here to experience this!"

"Not to mention they have Jerome and Margaret, two of the top leaders in the program. So, Naomi, I have no idea where you got the no leaders idea from" Kurt said. The two teams, now suited up, headed out to the court yard for their first challenge.

"This first challenge is a basic game of capture the flag, but with a twist. You're all going to be armed with paintball guns. If you are shot, you are out. Blue team shoots blue paint, red team shoots red paint. If the flag is lost, the team that loses it is out. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes!" All 22 Spartans replied in unison.

"Mmhmm. Now, go to your bases with your flags. When I sound the bell, the challenge begins"

"You guys ready?" Arthur asked Blue Team as they headed to the base.

"You bet" John replied. Red Team was a bit of a mess. They were constantly bickering in the base.

"Look, we need a strategy. I say we sacrifice Cyclops here" Leon said, pointing at Margaret.

"She's a total badass, dude! We can't get rid of her!" called out Malcolm.

"We're all badasses, though. We're genetically enhanced supersoldiers, for God's sake!"

"Point taken" Red Team had no leader, and Carris immediately began butting heads with Malcolm over leadership.

"You aren't cut out for this!" Malcolm insisted.

"And neither are you!" Carris shot back. Jerome stepped in.

"I'll take control here, since you can't figure it out" He looked around the room. "Margaret. Stay back and look after the flag with Leon, Cal, and Vinh. The rest of us will hunt Blue Team's flag" Then the bell rang. Blue Team sent out six, leaving five back to watch the flag. Kurt was leading the charge out to capture Red Team's flag. John stayed back to fortify the defenses.

"The least we could do is try to get to a stalemate" Keiichi was saying to Sam as they were walking through the woods.

"Yes, but this challenge isn't timed. We either capture the flag or…" But Sam was cut off as he and Sam got blasted by Carris, who was sitting in a tree. Kurt spun around and took her out, only to be taken out by Adriana with a shot to the crotch.

"Right in the kiwis" he squeaked out as he fell to the ground. She laughed. The eliminated Spartans headed back to the main lodge.

"Wow. That didn't take long" Johnson said, watching from the main lodge. Arthur looked over at Solomon and Isaac.

"Here, we have an easy job. Prevent them from stealing the flag, and recover it when they drop it" he said.

"It really isn't that easy" Isaac replied.

 **Johnson confessional: "Here in the port-o-john outside the main lodge, you can tell everyone how you're really feeling in total confidentiality. Unless you want to throw everyone's dirty laundry out in the open, that is"**

 **John Confessional: "I have to say, the idea of being on a TV show is growing on me"**

 **Leon Confessional: "I already hate my team. Can I switch someone on my team with someone on Blue? Preferably Kurt. He used to beat John and his crew all the time when we were kids"**

John decided to head out into the woods after it had been awhile since he heard from the others. He headed out there with Linda, the best sniper on the team.

"I'm going to find a tree to hide in"

"Good. Go do that"

"Come on, you're too tight. Loosen up a bit. We're on TV" Sam said to the two over the radio. John groaned. Red Team was trying stealth. Jai was leading Jerome, Adriana, and James.

"Hold on. Let them pass" Jai said.

 **Adriana Confessional: "I thought Jai was crazy. Plus, Jerome is antsy to get back out there and prove he's still got it after spending twenty years in cryo AND he's one of the best leaders the program produced"**

 **Jerome Confessional: "Yeah, I got carried away there"**

Jerome was walking around in active camo.

"I love being invisible. Because I can do this!"

"Jerome! Stop grabbing my butt!" Adriana yelled.

"Who said it was me?"

"Just stop it!"

"Fine" Jerome revealed himself crouched in the woods. "Red Team! Charge!" He led Red Team on a charge at the Blue Base. Jai was jumping up and down and waving his arms, exasperated at what he was seeing.

"Try and stop me!" he cried as he began using his SMG-shaped paintball gun to metaphorically mow down Blue Team. He grabbed the flag, then let out an ear piercing shriek before running. James was sniped by Linda, and was out.

 **James confessional: "You know, I kept thinking he was going to do it. But, Jerome proved me wrong. Like that trust fall when we were 10. That made me realize he was perfect for Douglas and Alice on that team. And not just because they're former washouts"**

Jerome was running through the woods, flag being waved like a madman. Red Team was backing him, struggling to not be eliminated by Blue Team. He was screaming unintelligible gibberish while dodging John's paintballs. Jerome needed to jump over the river. He started jumping over the rocks. He almost made it. Then, he slipped. _Plop!_ He fell in the river, cracking his crotch and his head on a couple rocks. The fast moving current swept him away. Jerome grabbed onto a tree branch and pulled himself out. Red Team began running towards him.

"Wicked wipeout, man!" Jai told him. Jerome gave a thumbs up. Vinh began looking around.

"Jerome, where's the flag?"

"Oh shoot"

 **Solomon confessional: "When he surfaced without the flag, I was glad for two reasons. The first being he was okay. The second meaning we won the challenge"**

 **Margaret confessional: "When I heard Jerome dropped the flag into the river, I was fuming. I know who I'm voting off tonight!"**

The Spartans returned to the lodge. Johnson greeted them.

"I saw everything on the cameras we have all over the place. Jerome, I'm glad you're okay, but you cost your team the challenge. Blue Team wins!" he called out. Blue Team began celebrating.

"What do we win?" Alice asked.

"You get a hot tub party!" Blue Team cheered, while Red Team looked dejected.

"Red Team, vote one of your own off, and meet me at the bonfire pit after dinner"

Dinner was very awkward. The team began looking awkwardly at each other. Jerome has washed off his war paint, and was slipping on his hoodie as they had all removed their MJOLNIR armor. Leon and Margaret were keeping their war paint on until after the elimination ceremony.

"So. Who do we vote off first?" Adriana asked. Robert shrugged.

"I say we either vote off Cyclops or Flagpole Sitta" he said, motioning to Margaret and Jerome. James shook his head.

"We can't vote off either one of our strongest players. It's poor strategy!" he proclaimed.

"It's a calculated risk" Malcolm responded.

"How about one of the two asshats who kept claiming they were the leader?" Leon proposed. Jerome appeared to agree.

"I one hundred percent agree with you there" he said. Carris and Malcolm seemed annoyed.

"Supposedly, you're one of our leaders, but your bonehead move cost us the challenge" Malcolm said through gritted teeth, poking Jerome in the chest. Red Team was stuck with a decision, but most had made up their minds. Jerome was leaning against a wall in the mess hall after dinner, sipping on a cup of fruit punch. Johnson handed him a broom.

"If you got time to lean around the camp, you got time to clean around the camp" he told him. Jerome reluctantly began sweeping the floors while Carris was wiping the tables.

. . .

It was late at night. All 11 members of Red Team sat around the bonfire. Sergeant Johnson stood before them. Malcolm looked over at Jerome and laughed.

"Dude, you had quite the wipeout today. Really made my day. But, you have a long way to go before you're ready to be a leader again after being frozen for 20 years" he told him. Johnson held up a plate of s'mores.

"Here is a plate of s'mores. A delectable civilian camp treat that you've unfortunately never had. However, tonight, they mean life or death. When I call your name, come up and claim one. The contestant that does not receive a s'more is eliminated, and must take the Walk Of Shame to the Loser Pelican and be taken to their post-war civilian home" he began. He looked over the Spartans.

"Leon" he called first.

"Alright!"

"Malcolm"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Cal. Adrianna. Margaret. Vinh. Robert" he continued calling. He swept the remaining Spartans with his gaze.

"Jai" When he heard his name, Jai breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, we have two left. The next contestant who is going to stay is James" James walked up and grabbed his s'more. None of them ever had one before, and they were looking forward to this treat. Jerome and Carris were the final two. Jerome broke out in a cold sweat. Carris began shaking. Jerome began biting his nails. Carris had her eyes closed tight and fingers crossed. Johnson was rubbing his chin. He stuck is right index finger out, between the two Spartans. They've been through hell and back since they were six years old, yet this is what makes them squirm, Johnson thought. He began wagging his extended finger side to side, the two watching, hypnotized. He then settled on a contestant.

"Carris" She breathed a sigh of relief. Jerome was disappointed. He slouched down on the seat, which was a log bench.

"Great wipeout, horrible recovery" Johnson told him. Jerome stood up, and walked towards the Pelican, hands in the pockets of his hoodie, that would take him to the human colony of Minister, his home world. He took one look back, and everyone was waving bye to him. He sighed, boarded the Pelican, and left the show.

"Rest of you are safe. Have a good night's sleep, and I'll see you in the morning" Johnson said. Adriana took a bite of the s'more. She wolfed the rest of it down, finding it enjoyable.

 **Adriana confessional: "The simple pleasures we've been denied for so long feel so great. I'm actually kind of depressed now"**

Meanwhile, Blue Team was living it up in the hot tub. Sam stood in the tub, hoisting a bottle of hard pink lemonade.

"A toast to victory!" he cried. His other teammates cheered in response. But, one teammate was missing. John was sitting alone in his room in the Blue Team base. He didn't go because he didn't have a swimsuit, nor does he know how to be in "normal" situations. All he ever knew was war, and he didn't know how to do anything else. He felt left out because his comrades have adapted, but not him. Maybe he'll get a swimsuit. He liked Kurt's skull and crossbones patterned trunks. He also thought Linda looked good in hers, a zebra print bikini, though he didn't know how to tell her. Maybe, he thought, maybe I'll come out of shell during this show.


	2. Keep It Upright

Last time on Ultimate Spartan Warrior: Twenty-two Spartan-II supersoldiers arrived on Reach for the chance to win one million dollars. After being split into two teams of 11, they began their first challenge, a game of Capture The Flag. Jai began leading Red Team in a game of stealth, but Jerome broke out to go for the gusto and lead a charge on Blue Base. Ultimately, he wiped out into the river and lost the flag, costing his team the challenge. Blue Team won the hot tub party, and Jerome became voted off the show first because his bonehead move cost them the challenge, despite being one of the best leaders to come from the Spartan-II Program. Will Red Team win the challenge, or will Blue Team repeat and force Red Team to send another contestant home?

. . . .

"It was the best wipeout ever, I tell you what!" Leon exclaimed. He was pouring milk into his bowl of cereal, with Douglas-042 on the "Have You Seen Me?" section of the milk carton. "He just slipped off the first rock and then cracked his nuts on the second!" He proclaimed this to uproarious laughter in the mess hall.

 **Fred confessional: "In all honesty, I have no idea what happened to Jerome. He used to be one of the best leaders in the program. I guess all that time in cryo messed him up and he was just eager to get back in action"**

John was eating his waffles and eggs, talking with Sam. They were forming a plan to get in the final three.

"Who should join us in the final three?" he asked. Sam shrugged.

"Kurt and Linda are topping my list" he replied.

 **Sam confessional: "Look, I'm going to need all the help I can get to get into the final three. I don't know what I'm going to do with the million dollars when I win, as I've never been able to think about stuff like this"**

Johnson walked in with some envelopes.

"Mail call!" He handed an envelope to John, another to Margaret, and a third to Naomi. John opened the envelope. It was a letter from Cassandra, one of his many "gal pals". She was severely injured in the war, and was recovering on Earth in Hong Kong. She wrote:

 _John,_

 _I'm writing to you from the rehabilitation facility in Hong Kong. I've been able to regain some usage of my legs; however I have to use a cane for the time being. I can no longer lift my left arm up all the way due to severe nerve damage. Though I can't be on the show, I do wish you the best of luck and hopefully I will see you soon._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Cassandra-075_

Love. What is love? John thought. He figured he and the 20 other remaining contestants wouldn't be able to feel it. Margaret got a small package from one of her former teammates on Spartan Team Black, Otto. He adopted the surname of van Smutz in the post-war universe. She gasped upon opening it. It was an engagement ring. Otto had asked Margaret to marry him. Johnson was the first to congratulate her.

"I am so happy for you" he said while high fiving her. The others were applauding her.

 **Malcolm confessional: "Her and Otto have been close from the beginning. I'm not surprised this happened. But, I'm very glad for her. Regardless of a win or a loss, at least she has something to look forward to"**

Johnson looked out over the remaining Spartans.

"We have our next challenge in 45 minutes. Finish up, get dressed, and meet me by the bonfire pit" he said. Naomi had silently opened her letter on the way out. It was from a man named Stefan Sentzke. She recognized that name, as he was one of ONI's 10 Most Wanted. She was creeped out, as this terrorist was saying he knew where she was and was going to see her as soon as he can. She stuffed the letter in her pocket, and caught up with everyone.

"Today's challenge is an obstacle course relay" Johnson announced, pulling out two batons from a canvas messenger bag. "There are ten obstacles on this course. You must have one team member complete each obstacle, and pass the baton off after each obstacle to another team member. If you fall, you must not drop the baton. If you do, and don't drop the baton in the process, you have to go back and redo that obstacle all over again"

"That's great and all, but we're a team of eleven" Keiichi butted in.

"Find one member who will sit out the challenge" Blue Team huddled up and began talking amongst each other.

"I'll sit this one out" Isaac said, stepping forward. Isaac then proceeded to the end of the course, bypassing all the obstacles.

"Now that we have an even number of contestants, I need to know who will be at each obstacle" Red Team began talking to each other. Margaret wasn't fully focused on being in the leadership position now that Jerome was eliminated as she was still clouded by her engagement to Otto.

"Alright, I'll start us off and we'll have James finish off at the last obstacle" she began.

"Who's going where on the other eight obstacles?" Vinh asked.

"You'll be second then. The remaining seven will be Malcolm, Cal, Carris, Adriana, Leon, Robert, and Jai" Margaret replied.

"Sounds good to me" Jai added.

"Put it in Red Team!" Margaret exclaimed. Everyone on Red Team put their fists in a circle.

"One two three WIN!" they all yelled at the same time. They scattered to their obstacles along the course. Blue Team was starting with Alice. She took the blue baton from Johnson, the red being taken by Margaret. The first obstacle was they had to walk over a rotating log that was positioned over a mud pit.

"The race will begin on my cue" Johnson said while holding up an air horn. The horn sounded, and the race began. Naomi quickly hopped up on the rotating log, and ran across with ease. Margaret lost her footing, and had to awkwardly hop across the log. Naomi handed the baton off to Keiichi, who began crawling under the barbed wire. Margaret fell off the log, but threw the baton to Vinh. But, Keiichi was already off to hand it off to Sam, who was strapped into the zipline.

 **Vinh confessional: "I knew we were done when we fell two obstacles behind. I thought we were done for for sure!"**

 **Sam confessional: "Winning back to back was going to be easy"**

Sam passed off to Alice, who began running the tires. Malcolm finished the zipline, passing it off to Cal. Alice tripped and fell at the end, prompting her to go back and redo the tire run. Cal and Alice were practically even throughout.

 **Cal confessional: "You know, when I was even in the tires, I thought we could win this"**

Alice handed off to Solomon, and Cal to Carris. This next obstacle was crawling through a tangled mess of pipes. Carris got lost in the pipes, and it took her awhile to get out. Meanwhile, Solomon was passing the baton off to Kurt. The next obstacle was monkey bars over a tank of starving piranhas.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Kurt exclaimed.

"The hell I'm not!" Johnson called back over the PA system. Kurt took a deep breath and quickly began climbing the ladder, just as Carris found her way out and began sprinting towards Adriana with the baton. Kurt began going across the monkey bars quickly and tried not to look down.

 **Kurt confessional: "I knew I couldn't look down. Even though those piranhas were jumping out trying to bite my feet! Look, I know I'm in power armor, but those things are still terrifying"**

Kurt hopped down, and handed the baton off to Linda, who proceeded to the next obstacle. That obstacle was having to swing from ropes over a bed of barbed wire. Adrianna now had to get over the piranhas. One of them jumped up and clamped its jaws into her butt.

"OW! GET OFF!" she yelled, smacking it with the baton. Everyone was laughing at the sight. Linda fell down she was laughing so hard.

 **Linda confessional: "Best thing I've seen all day!"**

 **Leon confessional: "That moment I knew we wouldn't be able to keep up"**

Red Team had fallen behind because Carris had gotten caught up in the pipe maze. Now they had to work overtime to catch up. Linda handed the baton off to Arthur, who had the task of walking through a pavilion full of mirrors and finding his way out. Robert had received the baton from Leon, and began charging into the mirror pavilion only to be stopped. Both Spartans were lost, and were slowly trying to find a way out.

"This is harder than expected" Leon muttered to himself. Margaret was watching the whole thing unfold on a TV screen with the Red Team members who had already gone.

"You can do this Robert" she said over the radio.

"Thank you for the encouragement!" he replied back. Arthur was admiring himself in one of the mirrors.

"Hello, you sexy beast" he said while flexing and striking poses.

"Arthur! There's no time for this!" yelled John over the radio. Arthur began running through the pavilion, and ran out at the same time as Robert. They went racing towards their teammates. Arthur passed the baton to Fred and Robert to Jai. This time the obstacle was having to dodge swinging arms from a machine.

 **Carris confessional: I couldn't believe we were still in it after our miscues early on!"**

Fred began dodging the arms of the machines with ease. Jai went to jump over one of the swinging arms, only to get his right foot caught and fall down. Now, he had to back to the beginning and do the whole obstacle over again. Fred was sprinting towards John, who was at the rock climbing wall waiting to get the baton. There it was, the final obstacle. Jai got hit again by the arm, this time in the groin.

"Let's get a replay on that!" Johnson yelled. He played the slo-motion replay of Jai getting hit in the groin, cackling while watching. He called Isaac in and the two busted out laughing.

By this point, John was already halfway up the rock climbing wall. All he had to do was slide down the slide on the other side, sprint to the finish line, and end the challenge. Jai finally completed his obstacle on his third goal, and was sprinting towards James. John was already sliding down the slide on the backside when James began his ascent up the wall.

 **James confessional: "I knew we were done, but we had to finish strong"**

John was breaking like the wind to the finish line. As soon as he crossed it, he chest bumped Isaac, knocking him to the ground. He turned around, and saw James at the top of the wall. Johnson lifted the arms of John and Isaac in the air.

"Blue Team wins again!" he proclaimed. Later, both teams were gathered at the bonfire pit.

"Blue Team, you might want to go get washed up and dressed up, as your reservations for a fancy dinner at La Korto in New Alexandria are for 6:30" Johnson said. Blue Team jumped up and began celebrating, heading off to the showers while chanting "Victory! Victory!" Red Team knew they had to vote someone off again.

"I'm so sorry guys" Jai said while sitting in the Red Team base before the elimination ceremony. Margaret was admiring her engagement ring from Otto.

"Don't sweat it. We're still human, and humans make mistakes" she said to Jai, trying to comfort him. Jai buried his head in his hands. He knew he was going to be eliminated that night. Red Team headed to the bonfire pit. A couple of Marines were adding wood to the fire. Jai took a seat along with the rest of Red Team. The two Marines left the bonfire pit. The fire was roaring, and everyone could feel the heat.

"Tsk. Tsk. Red Team, to say I'm disappointed is an understatement. And I would also like to say I'm genuinely surprised at the results of this elimination" Johnson began. Everyone perked up on the log benches being used as seats. Who is going home that he's shocked by?, they thought. Johnson held up a tray with little gold bags on them. "Last night, it was s'mores. Tonight, it's bags of gummy bears. There's only nine on this tray. When I call your name come up and claim a bag. Adriana. Carris. Leon" he began to call the names.

"Survive and advance" Leon said as he took a bag.

"Malcolm. Robert. Cal" Johnson continued. Jai was breaking out in a cold sweat. His stomach was in knots. Maybe I'm not going home after all, he thought.

"Next contestant who's staying is James"

"Place at the table!" James called out.

"Vinh, you get to stay as well" Johnson said. Vinh breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed a bag of gummy bears. One bag remained. It was Jai and Margaret in the final two.

"Before I say who's staying, I would like to repeat that I am very shocked by the results. But, the final bag of gummy bears goes to Jai" Johnson said. Both contestants were surprised. Jai took his bag of gummy bears and joined his teammates.

"How could you get rid of me? I'm one of your best members!" Margaret cried out.

"Yeah, and we still lost!" Leon shouted back. Jai shot back at Leon.

"It's not entirely her fault!" he yelled back. "I got knocked down twice at the swinging arms! Carris got lost in the pipe maze! Robert got stuck in the house of mirrors!" He handed his bag of gummy bears to Margaret.

"I want you to stay. Do it for you and Otto" he said to her. Margaret smiled.

"We could afford a nice honeymoon with the prize money"

"That's one way to look at it" Jai walked off, hopping into the Pelican and flying away. Red Team was shocked.

"He can't just do that! He can't just walk out!" James yelled. Johnson shrugged.

"It's not in the rules, so I guess it's okay" he said. Johnson walked off, leaving Red Team standing around the fire in a tense and awkward silence. Leon broke the silence.

"Jai did the right thing" he said "I thought about it and he's right. I guess we need to rally around you, Margaret and win the next challenge" Margaret smiled.

Meanwhile, Blue Team was smiling in New Alexandra at La Korto. Blue Team was sitting around a table in the restaurant eating a five-course meal. Arthur stood, holding a glass of Champaign. He tapped his spoon against the side of the glass.

"Another toast to victory" he said. Everyone else stood and clinked their glasses together. They all laughed as they sat down. The wait staff came by and delivered the second course, the soup course. They all began to eat, feeling weird in fancy clothes that weren't military dress. Naomi was looking around the table at her teammates. She was taking it all in, enjoying the experience as long as she was there. She was also thinking of that letter from Stefan Stenzke. She didn't want to know what he was planning on doing to her if he gets to her. But then again, he wouldn't pose much of a threat to her in a fight, so she didn't know why she was worried.


	3. Episode 3: Jumpin' and Buildin'

"Last time on Ultimate Spartan Warrior: The two teams competed in an obstacle course to see who would get one step closer to winning the million dollars. Isaac sat it out for Blue Team because we needed to make the teams even. Red Team faltered early on, but managed to catch up towards the end. However, Jai took a few shots to the man region and that let Blue Team pull away. Frustrated with back to back losses, Red Team voted their leader Margaret off. Enraged, Jai told Margaret to stay and walked off himself. Now, let's see what today has in store for us"

. . . . .

The alarm clock went off in John's room. He shut it off and woke up. Another day was beginning, meaning the show had a new challenge in store for him and his team mates today. Everyone in the Blue Team base was riding high off of back to back wins, and they were hoping for a third.

 **John confessional: "Three in a row? It's possible"**

 **Naomi confessional: "Three in a row would be a great start! But, I don't want to let my guard down"**

Red Team was in the main dining hall, eating plastic-looking square eggs and floppy bacon for breakfast. Adriana poked her hashbrowns with her fork. They promptly jumped off the plate and slid like a slug out the door. Leon put his fork down at the sight.

"I've lost my appetite" he said.

"We got better food in the military" Margaret mused. Johnson sat with Red Team.

"Ready for what I have in store for you today?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, Sergeant Major" Vinh responded.

"Please, call me Avery. The war's over. We're not in the military anymore" The Spartans never thought about that. All they knew was war, and this show was supposed to help them adjust. Johnson fought with the producer behind the scenes to adjust the challenges from being military themed to more general reality show challenges. Now, he had complete control over the challenges.

Blue Team was energetic, having all 11 of their members still. The team was ready for whatever challenge Johnson and the producers had for them today. Naomi was still a bit uneasy over the letter from Staffan Sentzke. Johnson stood at the door.

"Alright everyone! Finish up and meet me at the fire pit. We start filming in fifteen!" he called out. Blue Team began cleaning up and heading out to the fire pit. Naomi looked over at John.

"Hey, I got this letter from Staffan Sentzke the other day" she said. John raised an eyebrow.

"The terrorist?"

"Yeah. He said he knew who I was and where I am"

"Keep an eye out. Better sleep at night with one eye open" Now John was worried. The two teams were gathered at the bonfire pit.

"You're going down, Blue Team! Red Team has it today!" Leon yelled.

"Big whoop! Three in a row is going to be too easy!" Arthur yelled back. Johnson arrived, cameras rolling.

"Today, we have a challenge that was originally supposed to be on Day One, but I pushed it back to today to make it a bit harder. The premise is simple. The first part requires you to jump out of a Pelican dropship into the lake. Depending on where you land, you get a certain point amount. The second part is both teams will have a box of supplies to make a go kart. Whoever builds the kart that both functions and looks the best, wins the second half. The best team overall wins the challenge" Johnson explained the challenge. The teams looked at each other, glaring silently.

 **Margaret confessional: "I wish Johnson did this on Day 1! Now we have two people gone!"**

 **Kurt confessional: "Well, with two more people, we can win phase one easily"**

The Pelican dropships arrived to take the teams over the target. Standing in their swimsuits, the Spartans took the ascent. Johnson joined them in a Falcon.

"Here's how the scoring works. A bullseye is 25 points. The first ring after that is 15 points, then 10, the outermost ring is 5. Blue Team, you're up first!" Johnson called out. Blue Team began looking around, trying to see who would go first.

"How about John?" Arthur asked.

 **John confessional: "I can't swim. Why else do you think I drown in the games?"**

John began shaking his head and backing up.

"The savior of humanity, and you're scared of heights?" Soloman asked, tauntingly. Sam grabbed John. Linda followed suit.

"So, John? Should we give you motivation?" she asked. Linda and Sam picked John up, and threw him out of the Pelican. John was flailing all the way down. _PLOP!_ He hit a bullseye! John was quickly fished out by Johnson's Falcon.

"Who's next?" Sam asked. Kurt shrugged.

"How about you?" he asked, kicking Sam out of the Pelican. 10 points. Naomi and Keiichi glanced at Linda.

"You next!" Naomi yelled, throwing Linda over her shoulder. Keiichi slipped Linda's bikini top off before she was thrown out.

"Missing something?" Keiichi called after her, holding her top.

"Okay, you pervert, let's go" Naomi said, grabbing Keiichi and going down with him. At this point, Blue Team had 75 points. Kurt jumped next, completely missing the circles. Red Team began laughing from their Pelican. Kurt glared at them and swam to the shore. Soloman landed a perfect dive on the bullseye. Red Team held up score cards, all bearing 10s.

"That's the only 10 Blue Team's getting" Cal said. John and the rest of Blue Team were drying off on the dock. Naomi turned to John.

"Be honest with me. Does this make my butt look big?" she asked, spinning around so John could see her backside better. John had only ever loved three girls in his life. Two of them died in the war, the third was an AI.

"Hmmm, are you going to do something to me if I answer with a yes?" he asked. Naomi laughed as Arthur landed in the 15 points zone. He let out a cry of pain, as he did a split as he hit the water. All the guys collectively cringed at the sight. He sank into the water as Alice bellyflopped into the 5 point zone.

"Shouldn't have done that!" Alice called out as she resurfaced. Red Team was scheming inside their Pelican.

 **James confessional: "Blue Team has the first phase won because they have multiple bullseyes. We can hot maybe one or two and narrow it, but we'll have to win it in phase two"**

Margaret looked over at the Blue Team Pelican. Fred and Isaac were the only two members who haven't jumped yet.

"We need to aim for the 15 and the 10 point zones. Bullseyes are nice, but we need to focus on gaining lost ground so we can win phase two" she told her team. Fred leaned out of the Blue Team Pelican.

"How many points are we at?" he asked. Johnson calculated it up.

"Well, with the fact Kurt missed entirely, you're at 120" he replied. Fred gave a thumbs up as he jumped out and landed in the 5 point zone. Isaac followed suit, landing on his side in the 10 point zone. As he began to swim over to the shore, Johnson called out the score.

"Blue Team finishes Phase 1 with 135 points! Red Team, you're up!" Robert jumped out first, and landed in the 5 point zone. He gave a thumbs up as he resurfaced, but his team gave him a disapproving look. Blue Team was drying off and putting their clothes on while Red Team jumped.

"You need to get more than five points, Robert!" Adriana called down. Vinh crossed her arms.

"Let's see you do better" she snapped back. Adriana jumped, landing in the 15 point zone. She had a smug look on her face as she resurfaced. Vinh scoffed and did a cannonball out of the Pelican, landing a bullseye. Her teammates clapped.

 **Vinh confessional: "Put your money where your mouth is. Don't run your mouth if you can't back it up"**

"Alright, who's going next?" Margaret asked. Jai pushed her out.

"I nominate you" he said. She landed in the 10 point zone, and Jai followed her out into the same zone. Leon hopped out and smashed into the buoy around the 15 point zone, sinking slowly into the water.

"I got you, Leon!" James yelled, jumping out after him into the 15-point zone. Carris was sticking out of the Pelican.

"Come on! We're lagging behind!" she yelled.

"Then jump" Cal shot back. Carris grabbed Cal and the two jumped out, both completely missing all the point zones. The members of Red Team on the shore were visibly disappointed. James even fell to his knees. Malcolm shrugged and hopped out, picking up an additional five points.

"Red Team, you tallied a total of 100 points. Blue Team wins!" Johnson called out. Blue Team was high fiving each other and celebrating. Carris and Cal, embarrassed and humiliated, swam to the shore with their teammates glaring angrily at them.

"Look, we're upset you missed, but we can win Phase Two" Margaret told them. The two seemed to be a bit uplifted. Red Team dried off and got dressed. They joined Blue Team at the bonfire pit.

"Alright, now we're on to the second part of the challenge" Johnson began. He motioned to the piles of scrap metal off to the side. "Now, you have to design and build a go kart. You'll have two hours to both design and build your go kart" He pulled out an air horn and held it up. "Your three hours start now. Go!" He sounded the horn and the two teams ran to the scrap heaps and began pulling out parts.

 **Arthur confessional: "We have no plan"**

 **Carris confessional: "I have no idea what a go kart is, let alone how to build one"**

"Okay, we have parts. Now we need a design" Sam said. Blue Team was scrambling with their parts. Keiichi began assembling parts.

"Hold on guys, I got this" he said.

"Excuse me, but we're a team" Kurt replied, annoyed.

"Look, I know mechanics. I have this"

"We don't even know what it's supposed look like" Sam butted in.

"Sam's right" John chimed in. Keiichi threw a wrench at him. While Blue Team was bickering, Red Team was coming together.

 **Malcolm confessional: "I don't think anyone knows I'm here"**

 **Cal confessional: "I think we're starting to work nicely. The gears are turning smoothly"**

Malcolm was sketching ideas.

"Look, how about something like this? It shoots fire" he said, presenting the bad sketches to his team.

"Nah, I was thinking we slick it back a bit" James replied, redrawing some of the sketches. Blue Team was still arguing as Keiichi kept making the go kart himself.

"This is hopeless!" Arthur yelled.

"One hour gone, two hours remain!" Johnson yelled back. Red Team was beginning to assemble the kart as Blue Team gave up and let Keiichi to his own device.

 **John confessional: "We are definitely losing"**

 **Alice confessional: "We're 100% losing and I know who I'm voting off"**

 **James confessional: *picking his nose* "Wait, is this thing on?"**

Johnson sounded the air horn a second time.

"Alright, time's up!" he called out. "Blue Team, you struggled. You tried to prevent one of your members from taking over,, and he still did. That is one sad go kart"

"Yeah, it doesn't even have all four wheels on it" Margaret chimed in.

"Red Team, all you need to do is crank it up" Malcolm revved the engine.

"Red Team wins!" Johnson proclaimed. Red Team began celebrating as Blue Team all glared angrily at Keiichi. "Red Team, you all win a night in the rec room!" Red Team began jumping and celebrating.

"Hey, none of you know anything about building things. But I do!" Keiichi called at his teammates. John jabbed his finger in Keiichi's chest.

"And look where it got us"

. . . . .

It was the elimination ceremony. Johnson was using cans of pop as the immunity symbol. There were three left in the bucket of ice and four Spartans remaining.

"The next contestant who stays is Arthur" Johnson announced. Arthur popped open the can and clinked with Naomi. Johnson looked over the three remaining Spartans. "Linda, come on up!" The last can was awarded to Isaac.

"Come on!" Keiichi yelled, jumping out of his seat.

"Hey, you cost us" Kurt responded.

"Plus, you did rip my top off, you pervert" Linda added. Keiichi groaned and stormed off, ending his time on the show. John sat down, taking a sip out of the can and staring into the fire. He looked over and saw Naomi and Linda join him. Then, Red Team approached.


	4. Episode 4: Face the Heat

Red Team approached Blue Team at the bonfire pit. Keiichi had just been shown the door by his teammates after he took over the challenge and cost them. John was sitting on a log bench, staring into the fire while sitting between Linda and Naomi. He looked over at Red Team as they approached.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"To show you how we've felt the last couple days" Cal answered. Naomi looked behind Cal.

"Hey, Malcolm! I didn't see you there!" Malcolm threw his hands up in defeat.

"Why has no one noticed me?" he asked. Everyone laughed at that.

"I have a question all of us can talk about. What would you do with the million dollars if you won it?" James asked. A deafening silence came over the Spartans. At night when all was quiet, it gave them time to answer. They thought about it throughout the challenges of the past few days, but they weren't able to fully put those thoughts into words. Sam broke the silence first.

"I'd flex on everyone with a big house, designer clothes, and expensive jewelry" he said. Kurt shook his head.

"No, no. I'd do something more productive with that cash. Maybe I'd pay my rent finally" he replied. John answered as honestly as he could.

"I don't know what I'd do" he blurted out.

"Well, certainly you have to have thought about something" Carris responded. Then, Arthur let out a scream.

"The hell was that about?" Soloman asked.

"I saw a squirrel" Arthur replied. Margaret busted out laughing.

"You're scared of squirrels? A genetically modified supersoldier who's looked death in the face and laughed, and you're scared of squirrels?"

"Well, yeah. You must be scared of something, Margaret"

"I never really got into the E.O.D. stuff. I can't mentally bring myself to do it"

"Mine is getting locked in an airtight box and getting buried in it" Isaac piped up. James looked down at his feet.

"Me, I'm scared of clowns" Everyone bust out laughing.

"Clowns? Really, James?" Alice asked. James crossed his arms and gave her a death stare. "Alright, fine. After being frozen for 20 years, I guess that's what I'm scared of. Being frozen and just...forgotten"

"That is pretty terrifying" Kurt muttered. "My biggest fear is having to face the SPARTAN-IIIs and what I've done to them. Entire companies, just gone before my eyes. I don't want to talk about it" Everyone looked at each other, confused. SPARTAN-IIIs? Were there other SPARTANS they knew nothing about? And how did Kurt know about them? They were going to have to find the answers later. Margaret checked her watch.

"It's getting late" she said, and began walking off towards the bases. Red Team followed her lead.

"I think it's about time we do the same" Soloman said, and Blue Team began heading for the showers and their beds.

 **John confessional: "We may be competing against each other now, but we're still brothers and sisters in arms. It's nice to talk to each other like that sometimes, as people, not war machines"**

The sun was rising over the Spartans. Johnson and Dr. Halsey were looking over everyone's files before the cameras began rolling. Halsey had detailed files on all 22 Spartans, including their fears.

"The footage last night was telling. I had no idea they felt fear" Johnson told Halsey.

"Truly. Anyway, here's all their fears from the deep parts of their files. ONI censors covered these up, and now we have access" she responded. Johnson was going to have fun messing with them today. In the mess hall, Sam was eating a stack of pancakes topped with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and maple syrup.

"I'm loving civilian life!" he exclaimed as he began downing them.

"Eat like a person, Sam. That's disgusting" John told him. Blue Team shared this sentiment. Johnson entered the room with a box. It was made of wood and had airholes throughout it.

"Hey, Malcolm! Special delivery" Johnson set the box in front of Malcolm, and opened it to reveal a live goose. Malcolm fell out of his seat. The rest of the remaining Spartans looked shocked.

 **Malcolm confessional: "How did they know I'm scared of geese?"**

"The cameras…they got us talking about her fears on camera" Alice gasped.

"That's right I did. And today's challenge is a sort of therapy. We're helping you conquer these fears"

 **John confessional: "I fear nothing"**

"When you're done with breakfast, meet me at the firepit and we're starting" The Spartans met in the firepit at around 10:45 in the morning. "The team that has the most members conquer their fear wins. It's pretty basic" He motioned to a goose in a pen. "Malcolm is first. Spend two minutes with this goose in this pen" Malcolm began shaking his head and started backing up. Leon began pushing him towards the pen.

"Oh no you don't" Leon said, shoving Malcolm into the pen.

"Two minutes. That's all" Malcolm muttered to himself.

"You got this!" Cal called out to him. Malcolm began pacing around the pen. Then, the goose attacked. Malcolm began running around the pen being chased by the angry bird. He screamed and punched it, the force enough to kill it. He was sitting in a corner of the pen shaking.

"Do we get the point?" Carris asked. Johnson nodded.

"One point to Red!" Red Team high fived each other, and Cal pulled Malcolm out of the pen. Johnson motioned to the lake.

"Isaac, come with me" He led Isaac to an airtight box over by an open hole behind the barracks. Isaac looked stunned.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"There's cameras everywhere, remember?"

"Oh, right" Johnson shoved Isaac in the box.

"You have to spend 5 minutes in the box" Isaac began panicking as the box was lowered. "Your five minutes begins once the box is buried. Please don't panic too much because it's airtight"

 **Isaac confessional: "This is a big fear I have. I didn't say my real biggest fear, but Johnson wouldn't do that. Would he?"**

 **Sam confessional: "We're going to have to face the heat if we're going to win this one. Not looking forward to it"**

Both teams watched anxiously as Johnson started the clock. Johnson had a bell Isaac could ring if at any point he couldn't complete the challenge. He wanted to test the Spartans, and help them with their post-war transition, but he didn't want to hurt them. Too many heroes lost in the war. John began pacing as the clock ticked down. Linda began biting her nails. Red Team began talking amongst themselves.

"What if he actually does it?" Vinh asked. Cal shrugged.

"He did better than me in this situation. Airtight box? No way" she replied. James looked over at the clock.

"He has two minutes left" James said. Then, he was tapped on the shoulder by someone. He screamed and began running when he saw it was a clown. The clown began chasing after him. Red Team busted out laughing. James was being chased by the clown off into the woods.

"Is he going to be coming back?" John asked. Margaret shrugged.

"Don't know. Can't tell you" she responded. The timer went off and Isaac was raised. He quickly climbed out of the box, pulled out his wallet and opened it, kissed a picture inside the wallet, and quickly put his wallet away. Blue Team cheered him on. James came streaking back in, his voice giving out from all the screaming. Kurt tripped him, and he began crawling away from the clown. Johnson pulled out a camera.

"All you have to do is take a picture with him. That's it" James was skeptical. He began inching towards the clown.

"You've been to hell and back, and that's what you're scared of?" Carris asked, tauntingly. Red Team believed in a tactic of aggressive motivation. James drooped his head.

"I can't do it" he said. He and the clown began to walk opposite directions. Red Team collectively sighed. Arthur was next up. He had to sit on a branch up in a tree, over by a group of squirrels. He jumped off the branch as soon as he saw them, costing his team a point. The two teams were still tied up 1-1. Johnson looked at the files. He had another trick up his sleeve. He approached Margaret.

"There's a stink bomb in the rec room. You have 15 minutes to defuse it or the rec room will smell like a Brute's asshole for a week" he told her. Johnson shoved Margaret into the room and closed the door. "Your 15 minutes starts now" Margaret began frantically trying to diffuse the stink bomb. Johnson returned to the gathered Spartans. A Pelican arrived, and two people got off in UNSC Army dress uniforms.

"This is a Navy installation. You two have the wrong branch" Malcolm said to them. The man took his hat off.

"We're looking for Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose. Do you know where we can find him?" he asked. Kurt stepped forward.

"Tom. I'm here" Kurt said as he approached the pair. Tom smiled.

"We were told to come here by Avery Johnson. Said you wanted to talk to us" Just as Tom finished his sentence, the second person stepped out from behind him. She was very miniscule compared to everyone there, standing only 5'3. She began communicating in sign language.

"This is Lucy. She's introducing herself. She's mute, so she uses sign language to communicate. Lucy is saying it's a great honor to be in the presence of Lieutenant Commander Ambrose's brothers and sisters, our predecessors" Tom explained. Kurt addressed his peers.

"Colonel James Ackerson created the SPARTAN-III program in response to our success. He went to ONI behind the back of Dr. Halsey and created the SPARTAN-III program to create a mass-produced supersoldier. Tom and Lucy are from Beta Company, the second wave. They're the only survivors of Operation: TORPEDO" Kurt elaborated.

"Was it a Beta-5 program?" Linda asked. Kurt nodded. Soloman approached Lucy.

"You're small to be a Spartan" he said, patting her head. "I like it, though. Use you for a lot more covert ops in tight spaces" Lucy smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Her muteness is psychological from Torpedo" Tom said. Lucy shivered at the mention of the operation.

"We don't talk about it much" Lucy signed, with Tom translating. Kurt looked at the ground, then back up.

"I should've backed out after Alpha Company. When I saw all of them obliterated, I felt sick. I wanted to cry. I look at Lucy, and what I've done to her. I feel ashamed" Kurt said. Tom put his hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"It wasn't you. It wasn't Mendez. It was Ackerson, ONI, and the Army" he reassured him. Kurt was glad to see the two. After Operation: TORPEDO, Tom and Lucy became inseparable.

 **John confessional: "I'm not mad at the fact there was a SPARTAN-III program. I'm mad that only Kurt knew and no other SPARTAN-II was told. And Mendez? He was in on it, too?"**

Johnson approached Kurt.

"Blue Team gets the point" he said. He turned to Tom and Lucy. "You two are welcome to stay. You just have to leave after dinner" Lucy gave a thumbs up and Tom thanked him for the offer. "Cal! You're up!" Cal spun around, her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Johnson brought in a cage with a live deer inside. Cal jumped at the sight. It was a large buck, and it made Cal tremble. The buck's antlers were very big, and Cal feared she would be impaled by them. Johnson put some food in her hand.

"You have to feed him" he told her. "That's it. That's all you have to do" Cal took a deep breath and approached the buck. He was standing there peacefully, taking in the scenery. Cal began to slowly approach the buck.

"Hey, there. I don't want to hurt you" she whispered as she approached it. Just then, Margaret burst out of the rec room holding the defused stink bomb. She defused it with a minute to spare.

"I did it! Now the rec room won't smell like the inside of a Brute's asshole!" she yelled as loud as she could. The buck got startled and headbutted Cal. She lay on the ground on like a slug; it was her only defense. The angry buck ran off into the woods. Leon helped Cal to her feet. Everyone was glaring at Margaret. She slinked back into the rec room.

"Red Team gets a point for Margaret, but not one for Cal" Johnson said. Cal was sucking her thumb. Halsey was watching on a live feed from her lab on Reach, and she made a note of this. In her notes, she made note of this sudden mental regression. She noticed this in a lot of the Spartans over the course of the last few days. Robert pointed to a corner in Red Base.

"Bad Cal! Go to the Cal Corner!" he yelled. Cal put her head down and slinked into the corner.

"But…"

"No buts! Cal Corner! Three minutes!"

"You all right?" Tom asked Cal, whispering in her ear as she stood in the Cal Corner. She nodded. Blue Team was next. Sam was brought into the mess hall.

"I know you have a fear of octopuses. So, you have to eat a live one" he said. Sam sat down at the table. A live octopus was on the plate, complete with chopsticks, a bottle of soy sauce, and a glass of water. Sam threw up at the thought of having to eat a live octopus.

"No, no. I can't do it" he sighed. A Marine arrived and began cleaning up. John pat Sam on the back.

"I don't blame you. That's nasty" he said. Sam nodded.

"I wonder what the others have to do" he replied. John shrugged. The next up was another Blue Team contestant, Alice. She had to spend a half an hour in a cryo tube in the Blue Base. Once she was in, nobody was allowed in the room. When the timer went off, she was released, but had to find everyone else. When Johnson explained that to her, she began shaking. She went to the far corner of the base and began begging Johnson not to do that to her. Fred and Arthur were comforting her.

"It's all right. You don't have to do it" Fred was telling her. "We can take the lost point on this one. It's a calculated risk" Alice stood up. She was backing out.

"Am I going to get in trouble for this?" she asked Johnson. The Spartans were punished with corporal punishment during training for noncompliance.

"Don't worry. You're not going to get punished for this" Johnson whispered in her ear as they walked back outside.

 **Fred confessional: "Today is probably the most intense day of this show. *nervously chuckles* I'm not looking forward to what they're going to make me do"**

Right on cue, Fred was next. He slumped down hearing his name called. Fred had been around the universe, bred for war, but this was going to break him.

"Fred, I've read your file. Even the part covered in black ink. Your biggest fear is snakes" Johnson said. Fred had a chill run down his spine. He knew with all the camera rolling and all the people watching at home he had to do it. The snake was in a glass case. It was a small, non-venomous snake that was just chilling on a stick. Fred slowly approached it. The snake stuck its tongue out at him. Fred nervously booped its nose. Johnson awarded Blue Team a point. From here, things picked up the pace. Adriana fell off the mountain in the background after getting in a boxing match with the Abominable Snowman. Tom and Lucy slid in with a safety net to catch her.

"I'm still trying to mentally process what just happened" Carris told her teammates. They nodded in agreement. Carris was next and she got a point for her team because she successfully drank the mac & cheese powder mixed with vodka.

 **Margaret confessional: "I tried it as well. It was disgusting"**

 **Carris confessional: "I will NEVER, EVER drink that again"**

Naomi stumbled out of the gate, literally and figuratively. Her biggest fear was having to run on all fours in a horse race while being forced into the stuff they put on the horses. Her "jockey" was chosen by Johnson to be Sam. Naomi stumbled out of the gate and wiped out, costing her team a point. She began ripping everything off.

 **Naomi confessional: "Highly specific, I know"**

Vinh was up next. She had to run across a minefield. She was able to run straight across and not get blown up, winning a point for her team. Soloman was claustrophobic, and crawled through a series of increasingly shrinking tubes. He squeezed out of the one at the end, and gained a point for his team. Blue Team was jumping around celebrating with him.

"You're not done yet" Johnson reminded them. Both teams looked at each other. They realized he was right. John hadn't gone yet.

"John, you need to go for Blue now" Johnson said. He led John into the Red Team base to a closed door.

"This was supposed to be Jerome's room, but he got eliminated on the first day. Because of that, it's been empty. Perfect for your challenge" he explained. John gulped. He opened the door and walked in. He saw a small orange kitten laying on the pillow on the bed.

"Cats? You're scared of cats?" Malcolm asked. John nodded. Johnson pushed John in.

"Pet it" he told John. The hulking war machine slowly approached the small kitten, which let out a small squeak as its meow hadn't fully developed yet. John reached out and slowly ran the tip of his pointer finger on his right down its little body. Blue Team golf clapped for John, who walked out with the kitten on his shoulder like a pirate with a parrot. The two teams were gathered by the firepit.

"I hope all of you who conquered their fears got over them" Johnson began. "However, a team has to lose and another has to win. Red Team, you had three members fail the challenge. James, Cal, and Adriana all failed. However, Blue Team had four fail. Alice, Arthur, Sam, and Naomi didn't conquer their fears. Red wins!" Red Team began celebrating.

"What do we win?" Carris asked.

"You get a trip to Club Errera, the premier nightclub on all of Reach. And not just any old trip to Club Errera, you get V.I.P. access!" Johnson answered. Red Team began celebrating more. They went into their base, and began to get ready for their night out. Blue Team knew they had to show someone the door.

Dinner was chicken tenders with mac and cheese, broccoli, and a baked potato with a brownie for desert. Tom and Lucy were staying for dinner at the insistence of Kurt.

"So, you just kick someone off?" he asked. Kurt nodded.

"We just need to figure out who" Soloman leaned back in his chair.

"I say one of the four who didn't complete the challenge" he said. Sam, Arthur, Naomi, and Alice began nervously looking at each other.

"I'll second that notion, Soloman" Linda added. Naomi broke out in a cold sweat. Isaac took a sip of his drink.

"I've narrowed down to the final two out of those four"

"You do realize we're sitting right here, don't you?" Arthur asked. Isaac began acting like he didn't hear him.

"Wow, you hear that? There's a spooky ghost here!" Arthur gave Isaac a death stare while everyone laughed.

. . . . .

It was time for the elimination ceremony. Johnson was using ice cream as the immunity symbol.

"Blue Team. Back to back losses now. What happened? You got out to a fast start" he began. Blue Team looked around uncomfortably. Tom and Lucy were in the Pelican, as they would be hitching a ride with the loser.

"Alright, let's begin. The contestants staying are Isaac, John, Linda, Soloman, Fred and Kurt" The remaining four Spartans were the ones who failed the challenge.

"Next one staying is Sam" Sam breathed a sigh of relief and took his place with his teammates.

"Naomi! Come on down!"

"Woohoo!" Naomi exclaimed, jumping up out of her seat. Now it was down to Arthur and Alice. Alice began darting her eyes from Arthur to Johnson. Arthur was shaking he was so nervous. Johnson stared intensely at them.

"Get it on already!" Kurt yelled.

"I need to drag it out for the cameras. It makes things more dramatic" Johnson snapped back. "Anyway, the last contestant staying is Alice. Arthur, you're done" Alice ran over to her teammates, hugging both Naomi and Isaac. Arthur slowly got up, and walked to the Pelican. He sat down with his face in his hands. Lucy tried to cheer him up by lightly rubbing his shoulder with her fingertips, but it didn't seem to work.

"For the rest of you, you live to fight another day. Enjoy your ice cream!" Johnson said, ending the ceremony.

 **Fred confessional: "Nothing personal against Arthur, but as a team we found his fear of squirrels as an annoyance rather than a quirk."**

As the fire died down and everyone was heading back to the base, John and Isaac were the last two sitting outside. The cameras had stopped rolling for the day, and the two were watching the flames die down.

"Your wallet from earlier. Why did you kiss it?" John asked. Isaac pulled his wallet out and opened it up.

"She's my adopted daughter Wyoming. I found her on Luna when the Covenant reached Earth. She was so scared and so helpless" he answered. "I had to help her, so I sheltered her. We formed a bond, and she's been my angel since. She changed me"

John looked at the picture of the young girl. She was wearing a powder blue sundress and a white beret, her long red hair hanging all the way down her body to her hips.

"I can relate somewhat" John said. "I had a son with Kelly years ago. Never met him until he was an adult, but it still had an effect on me" Isaac put his wallet away and shot a look at John.

"You have a son?" And John began to tell him the story.

At Club Errera, Red Team was living it up. Margaret and Malcolm were watching James and Leon make fools of themselves on the dancefloor as they sat on a couch in the V.I.P. lounge. Malcolm was watching Cal drunkenly fumble around in her heels while Robert was trying to support her.

"I'm sure Otto would love to see where that dress" Malcolm said to Margaret. She smiled.

"You think so?"

"You bet"

"So, this is what winning feels like?"

"I guess"

"I've never felt…so free…so liberated"

"None of us have felt this way, Margaret. Let's hope our team isn't too hungover for tomorrow"


End file.
